This disclosure describes a new and unique wire quick action gated retainer for holding a plurality of electrical or cables during the assembly process of manufacturing wire cable harnesses. It can also be used to hold cables or ropes for inside the cavities of the components for temporary mounting. In the harness industry, it is common practice in the fabrication of a wire harness, to mount a plurality of wire holding components on a panel board along the intended route of the harness. The wires are then placed in the holders as they are run individually between their desired termination points. After completion of the process of forming the proper length and different leads extending from the formed wiring harness, cable ties, shrink wrap, or similar means to retain the formed wire harness in their bundled configuration are used. Such wiring harnesses are frequently used in cars and trucks, as well as in electronic components and other devices in need of elongated wiring harnesses to electrically communicate between electrical components.
Commercially available wire retainers which function to form the wires into a circular grouping typically include a base adapted for secure attachment to the panel board by means of screws or the like, a pair of arms pivotally mounted on the base, and a length of elastomeric material spanning the free ends of the arms and cooperating therewith to form the wires into a generally circular grouping. The weakest component of these retainers is the elastomeric material which can inadvertently become damaged through contact with a sharp object or it loses its resiliency with repeated use, thus requiring replacement.
A common problem of currently commercially available devices is that the elastomeric material cannot be readily replaced causing the entire harness to be scrapped or in need of repair. More specifically, the material is either inaccessible for removal or it is formed into a loop and held by a part of the base thus requiring the time consuming step of removal of the base from the panel board before the looped material can be removed and replaced. It is often easier to replace the entire device than try to replace the elastomeric material.
In other types of wire retainers, the ends of the elastomeric material are pinned or riveted to the base with the pin or rivet head disposed very close to the base thus making the replacement of the material difficult. A further disadvantage of such structures is that the ends of the material are at least partially exposed thereby making them susceptible to accidental separation from their anchoring means.
Other types of wire retainers have a unitary molded arm-base. A problem with such a molded structure is that if the resilient spring arms are molded thin enough to permit low force insertion of a wire, they have insufficient strength to overcome the resiliency of the elastomeric material which has a propensity to eject the wire inserted out between the spring arms.
These types of devices are commonly used in the automotive, appliance and aircraft industry to construct wire harnesses, but through the research and development of this new and unique device, it has become evident that this invention has a multitude of other applications and uses which are provided through the provision of an innovative gate operation. One and probably the most obvious application of the disclosed gated retainer is in the boating and recreational vehicle industry. Other areas of application will be in the construction industry by retaining extension cords and ropes, and in the toy and game industry where this device offers a safe insertion and removal of an object.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,627,300 of Jack E. Caveney describes a holder for forming a plurality of strands of wire into a bundle for assembling a cable harness. The holder includes a frame having relatively movable arms of which the ends are in spaced relationship. An elastic band is fastened on the frame to yieldably hold the ends spaced and provide a cradle for the wires. With these styles of retainers the elastic bands require periodic replacement and the device does not function adequately for any other purposes.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,601,863 of Milton Dorsey teaches of a cable binder having an elongated, flexible band formed with a plurality of apertures arranged in a row along the longitudinal axis of the band. A rigid coupling means is adapted to be insertably disposed through selected ones of the apertures to retain the band about a single cable or a cable bundle. Other selected apertures may be employed to secure the banded cable or bundle to supporting structure. This invention describes a flexible band that wraps around a banded cable or bundle similar to the Zip-ties used for the same purposes.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,717,906 of Peter M. Wells discloses a cable tie including a flat ratchet toothed strap and a hollow frame having pawls to engage the ratchet teeth of the strap. The pawls extend from opposite walls of the frame at the entrance thereto and converge in the direction of the outlet. The pawls terminate short of the outlet of the frame in free end surfaces which are generally flat and which are back tapered. The ratchet teeth on the strap are also back tapered and are bordered by flanges. This device is typical to the Zip-ties but shows in one embodiment a hole for receiving a fastener for securing to a wall or the like but would not have the capability of being used for the manufacturing of wire cable harnesses where the harnesses require quick and easy insertion and removal.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,875,618 of Jerome T. Schuplin additionally describes a bundling tie for use in looping about a plurality or bundle of elements, such as wires, tubes or cables, and to be drawn taunt about the bundle for mounting of the elements in bundle form on a support, such as for instance on a circuit board or harness board assembly, and comprising a buckle head having an aperture therethrough and a separate insert pawl mounted in the aperture of the head in generally floatable condition, adapted for locking coaction with a strap portion that is disposed in looped condition and passes into said aperture in the head. Such an arrangement not only facilitates the insertion of the strap into the aperture in the head but also ensures that the locking co-action between the pawl and the strap is such that pull out of the strap from the head is prevented. This device is another invention similar to the Zip-tie and does not have the capabilities of being used in the manufacturing processes of wire cable harnesses.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,029,277 of John J. Bulanda tells of an apparatus for forming a plurality of elongate objects such as wires into a bundle of circular cross section. The apparatus comprises a base to be affixed to a mount such as a panel board and a frame for mounting on the base. The frame comprises a pair of arms extending upwardly from adjacent the base with each arm terminating in an end portion. The end portions are movable relative to one another between a retaining position, wherein the spacing between the end portions is less than the diameter of one of the objects and a release position wherein the spacing is at least as great as the object diameter. In their release portion the end portions define an object-receiving opening. The arms are biased toward their retaining position. The apparatus further comprises a length of elastomeric material removably carried by the frame and free of the base. The length includes a portion bridging the arms adjacent the free ends. This portion cooperates with the end portions to hold the bundle therebetween. The frame and the base comprise attachment means for releasably mounting the frame on the base and operable to remove the frame therefrom whereby upon damage to the length of elastomeric material, it can be removed from the base without removal of the base from the support.
Although this apparatus has been designed to hold wire cable harnesses, it uses the perishable elastomeric method of producing the biasing tension for holding the wire cable harness and this device has no other foreseeable uses other than those specified.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,424,627 of John W. Tarbox describes a means and method that is provided for conveniently breaking out wires from a wire bundle in a wiring harness during the fabrication or layout stage, there being a wrapper having two parallel rows of holes punched therein and a specially designed comb having teeth with detent ends which are inserted through the first row of holes in the wrapper. The wire bundle is then passed alongside these teeth with the desired strands being broken out between the teeth, and subsequent to the breakout process the wrapper is folded over the wire bundle and the second row of holes engaged securely over the detent ends of the comb teeth. This device has been designed for a specific purpose and would not be usable in the manufacturing process of wire harnesses.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,688 of Kenkichi Itoh discloses a cable clamp with a base having a fixing portion on the lower surface, a flat clamp mockingly connected to the base, and a means for locking a distal end of the flat clamp to the base engageably or disengageably. The cable clamp retains electric wires between the base and the flat clamp. The locking member comprises a plate-shaped protrusion provided on the flat clamp or the base and a retaining protrusion formed with the outer surface thereof. A resilient retaining member is protrudingly provided on the flat clamp opposite the plate-shaped protrusion or the base and has a hole for engaging with the retaining protrusion. An engaging member is protrudingly provided on the same surface with the resilient retaining member in parallel and engaging with an inner surface of the plate shaped protrusion. Further, a notched portion formed with a distal end of the resilient retaining member faces the engaging member. Therefore, the cable clamp can easily carry out unlocking without any unlock levers and offers not only a simple but also a secure locking mechanism. This device often used in the automotive industry will not work effectively as a quick acting retainer to be used in manufacturing wiring harnesses due to the fact that the hinge mechanism is not adaptable to prolonged usage and the device is somewhat limited to other applications where it may be used.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,168,842 of Steve Brooks tells of a spark plug wire harness which includes a plurality of brackets having base portions which are secured to the valve cover of conventional internal combustion engines utilizing existing bolts and which have longitudinally and vertically aligned openings through which the spark plug wires are retained to thereby both space the wires from the engine and each other and to organize and align the wires between the distributor and the spark plugs. In some embodiments the brackets include adjustable sections. This device has been designed specifically to hold a spark plug wiring harness in a fixed location and would not be adaptable to the manufacturing processes of assembling wiring harnesses.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,048 of James Russell Cude a wire retainer for use in an air conditioning outdoor cabinet which houses a fan and a spine fin heat exchanger coil includes an extension portion, a base portion and a clip portion. The extension portion of the wire retainer is anchor-like and includes fluke-like members that, when inserted into and through spine fin material, lodge securely therein. The base portion of the retainer abuts the spine fin of the heat exchanger coil and positions the clip portion as such that wires or a wire bundle running interior of the coil can be guided and secured appropriately so as not to be cut by the fan or buffeted and broken by the relatively high velocity, high volume stream of air that is drawn by the fan through the interior of the air conditioning cabinet and the heat exchanger coil housed therein. This is another limit usage device that would not adaptable to be used in the manufacturing of wiring harnesses.
Thus there is a continuing need for improved devices to retain wire, cable or rope during formation of wiring harnesses or to provide a path for mounting. Such a device should have quick acting gates for easy insertion or removal with an extremely wide range of applications. Such a device should provide such quick action gates which allow for easy insertion and removal of wires and cable from the formed cavity and also prevent damage to the wiring harness or wires from abrasion by the gates with the wires or harness in the cavity.